Mixed martial arts events have been popping up across the country in cities big and small, with varying levels of success. Typically when you see an event in a smaller city you expect a smaller show, but that’s not the case in Kokomo, Indiana (population: 45,000).

Colosseum Combat MMA is arguably the best organization in the state of Indiana, and it became so while operating solely in the state’s 13th largest city. Colosseum Combat has become a go-to for top amateur and professional fighters alike, and the “little organization that could” regularly attracts some of the best regional talent available in the Midwest.

Owner and promoter Mark Slater has helped grow the organization to become one of the best regional events in the country, with highlights regularly shown on AXS TV’s “Inside MMA.”

Slater took over as owner in 2009 after the organization was launched by Jay Martin in 2006.

“Jay had built a good reputation for the organization so it was easy to start where he left off and grow the promotion each show,” Slater said. He’ll run his 20th show as owner – Colosseum Combat’s 30th overall – on October 11th, once again in Kokomo.

Also acting as the promotion’s matchmaker, Slater has attracted some of the best regional talent to the organization throughout the years. UFC and Bellator MMA veteran Ryan Thomas is the organization’s current welterweight champion, and fighters like current UFC star Anthony Lapsley, UFC veteran Shamar Bailey, former WEC champion Chase Beebe, World Series of Fighting star Carson Beebe, and TUF veterans Dustin Neace, Daniel Head, and Casey Dyer have all competed inside the Colosseum Combat cage.

In addition to the big show veterans, regional stars like James Porter, Johnathan Ivey, Nick Kraus, Rob Morrow and Team Intimidation stars Bobby Emmons and Danny Surface have all graced Colosseum Combat MMA’s cage in the past.

With well-balanced matchmaking and ever-increasing fan support, Colosseum Combat stands out as a big-time player on the local MMA scene.

When asked about the reason for his success, Slater had this to say, “[Colosseum Combat] is a local MMA show where fighters can fight in front of a nice crowd in a professional setting.”

Intimidation Clothing continues to grow on the national scene, as the brand is becoming more and more visible to larger MMA audiences across the country. Intimidation has become a regular staple on AXS TV, the cable network which shows more live MMA than any other channel.

Recently, two MMA events that the brand has sponsored have been featured on the regular Friday night “Inside MMA” program with Kenny Rice and MMA legend Bas Rutten. Highlights from both Colosseum Combat XXVII and HardRock MMA 59 were both shown on the December 6th episode. Colosseum Combat XXVII took place on November 23rd in Kokomo, Indiana, while HardRock MMA 59 took place on the same date in Somerset, Kentucky. Intimidation has been a longtime sponsor of the two organizations, which are two of the best regional promotions in the country. Over the past two years, Intimidation sponsored fighters and Intimidation logos have been the norm on Inside MMA’s highlights thanks to the fantastic promotion of Colosseum Combat MMA promoter Mark Slater, one of the most enthusiastic promoters in the business.

Intimidation continues to become an even more regular face on AXS TV as the brand recently signed a deal to sponsor XFC events. The deal will begin on Friday night, as XFC 27: Frozen Fury in Muskegon, Michigan will be sponsored by Intimidation with the company’s logo visible inside the cage. In addition, UFC veteran Ryan “The Tank Engine” Thomas will once again be sponsored by Intimidation marking his 3rd straight fight with Team Intimidation.

Intimidation Clothing is a fast-growing brand of lifestyle apparel & MMA training gear with a growing national presence and over 50 authorized dealers across the USA. Known as the biggest supporter of local MMA, the Intimidation brand is also regularly featured on multiple sporting events on SpikeTV, AXS TV, SportsTime Ohio, MTV2, FUEL TV, The Comcast Network, Comcast SportsNet and EpixHD as well as MMA highlight shows on Spike TV, AXS TV and more. In addition to over 110 styles of high-quality, bold t-shirts and sweatshirts for men, women and children and is also known for their premium-quality EliteFighter MMA board shorts. Anyone interested in becoming a dealer can apply to sell the Intimidation brand as a dealer and they can be found for sale online at IntimidationClothing.com. Fans can also follow the marketing wing of the Intimidation brand, Intimidation Interactive Media, @IntimidationIM, like Intimidation Clothing on Facebook or follow @IntimidationMMA on Twitter.

Intimidation Clothing continues to increase its presence in The Hoosier State, as the popular clothing brand will once again serve as a major sponsor of Colosseum Combat XXV in Kokomo, Indiana on June 1st. The 25th event from the organization, it will be the fifth time that Intimidation will work with the fast-rising promotion, one of the most well-respected and successful in the state of Indiana and across the Midwest. Colosseum Combat highlights are also regularly shown on AXS TV during “Inside MMA,” which is hosted by Kenny Rice and MMA legend Bas Rutten. This comes as the Intimidation brand continues to be the biggest supporter of regional MMA in the Midwest regularly sponsoring events in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and more.

Taking place at the Kokomo National Guard Armory, the night’s main event will feature a welterweight title fight between Intimidation sponsored UFC and Bellator veteran Ryan “The Tank Engine” Thomas facing Rocky France. The co-headliner is set to feature 70-plus fight veteran Johnathan Ivey vs. Chicago’s Rob Morrow, and the card is currently slated to feature 10 bouts.

Along with serving as a presenting sponsor for Colosseum Combat XXV, Intimidation Clothing will also be in the building selling its popular brand of t-shirts, hats, hoodies, fight shorts, and more. The popular brand will also be sponsoring amateur fighters Austin & Andrew Ferguson, AKA FergNation, as well as main event title contender Ryan Thomas.

Intimidation Clothing is a fast-growing brand of lifestyle apparel & MMA training gear based in Ohio with a strong presence throughout the Midwest USA and a growing national presence. The Intimidation brand is regularly featured on multiple sporting events on SpikeTV, AXS TV, SportsTime Ohio, MTV2, FUEL TV, The Comcast Network, Comcast SportsNet and EpixHD as well as MMA highlight shows on Spike TV, AXS TV and more. In addition to over 110 styles of high-quality, bold t-shirts and sweatshirts for men, women and children and is also known for their premium-quality EliteFighter MMA board shorts. Intimidation Clothing products can be found for sale online at IntimidationClothing.com and fans can follow the marketing wing of the company on Twitter, Intimidation Interactive Media, @IntimidationIM. Follow Intimidation Clothing on Facebook and @IntimidationMMA on Twitter.

In what is now a regular column here at IntimidationMMA.com, David Maldonado, sports medicine expert, sports rehab specialist and MMA cutman tells us about his journeys across the USA working at MMA events. Sponsored by Intimidation Clothing, David has seen it all and looks to help educate fans and fighters alike. Maldonado has stayed busy throughout 2012 and looks ahead to some great MMA events in the Midwest and Southeast. Also be sure to check out the ProFightingFans.com interview with David Maldonado, The Complete Cutman.

Last weekend was nothing short of epic. With residual news seen on ESPN, Inside MMA and everwhere in between, XFC in Nashville drew the attention of many. A great female bout won by Stephanie Eggink and a quick title claim by submission for Nick Newell were a few of the highlights.

2012 ends on a great note for me as I head to Chicago to finally work an event in the Windy City. Flawless FC welcomes me as I get the honor of helping a stacked card put the talents on stage for many. Shamar Bailey, Chris Tickle, Intimidation’s own Chase Beebe and Garret Gross, as well as Egidijus Valavicius are some of the notable fighters who people will come to see. No reason to expect anything less than an amazing night!

About David Maldonado, The Complete MMA Cutman
David Maldonado is a sports medicine expert, sports rehab specialist and MMA cutman who has worked events in eight Midwest states. With a doctorate degree in physical therapy, he combines his certifications as an athletic trainer and strength and conditioning specialist to assist fighters and other athletes inside and outside the cage. His formal training and experience of over a decade have allowed him to work in the NFL and with multiple major universities across the country and he has appeared on HDNet/AxsTV multiple times in his cutman role.

Intimidation Clothing is a fast-growing brand of combat sports apparel & training gear based in Ohio with a strong presence throughout the Midwest USA and a growing national presence regularly being featured on multiple sporting events on MTV2, FUEL TV, EpixHD and SportsTime Ohio as well as MMA highlight shows on Spike TV and HDNet. In addition to over 70 styles of high-quality, bold t-shirts, the company is also becoming known for their premium-quality EliteFighter MMA board shorts, as well as vale tudo shorts, rashguards and more available online at IntimidationClothing.com. Fans can like the Intimidation brand on Facebook and follow Intimidation on Twitter.

The Intimidation brand is synonymous with fantastic finishes, especially for the top fighters inside the Bellator organization. Many fighters bearing the Intimidation logo have provided exciting knockouts and submissions for Bellator, including Brian Rogers, Season 6 Welterweight Champion Karl Amoussou, top-ranked female fighter Jessica Eye and former Olympian Alexis Vila to name a few.

Brian Rogers came on board with Intimidation in 2011, and “The Predator” has produced three highlight reel knockouts in that span. At “Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Hendo” Rogers broke onto the national scene with a TKO over Ian Rammel, and he followed up that performance with a head kick in the first round of Bellator’s Season 5 Middleweight Tournament that earned him a victory over Victor O’Donnell. Upon returning in the Season 6 tournament, Rogers (pictured, left) provided a Knockout of the Year candidate with his flying knee finish over Vitor Vianna at Bellator 61, which has since been named the best knockout in Bellator history. That same knockout was named as one of the finalists for Knockout of the Year at the 2012 World MMA Awards.

Karl Amoussou has taken a different path to Bellator success, as the Frenchman submitted two of three foes en route to becoming the Bellator Season 6 Welterweight Tournament champion. He tapped Chris Lozano with a rear naked choke in the quarterfinals, and he then earned a title shot against Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askren with a heel hook finish over Bryan Baker that is a Submission of the Year candidate. Like Rogers above, Amoussou is one of Intimidation’s core of fighters who are supported in their fights and training throughout the year.

Four of the five highlight reel knockouts at Bellator 51 came from Intimidation sponsored fighters. Joey Holt blasted Clint Musser with a flying knee in the first round (pictured, right), and not to be outdone, Dan Spohn introduced himself to the national MMA scene with a nine-second KO of his own. Both Holt and Spohn were featured on HDNet (now AXS TV) as 2011 finalists for the Bazzie Award for KO Kick of the Year. John Hawk earned a TKO over Allen Weickart, but the shot heard around the mixed martial arts world was Alexis Vila’s overhand right that completely put former Bellator Featherweight Champion Joe Warren to sleep in the night’s main event.

The bantamweight division has seen a healthy dose of Intimidation fighters, as both Season 6 Bantamweight Tournament finalists were sponsored by the brand. Luis Nogueira earned his spot in the finals with a highlight reel knockout over Hiroshi Nakamura at Bellator 70.

Meanwhile, Season 7 has truly taken the spectacular finishes to a new level. The Intimidation brand has been regularly seen on both MTV2 and Spike.com and the highlights are regularly broadcast on MMA Uncensored on Spike TV as well as Inside MMA on AXS TV.

Fighters from Intimidation’s home state of Ohio did their best to show the depth of talent in the Buckeye State as middleweights Mojo Horne (rear naked choke) and Jason Butcher (guillotine choke) both scored 1st round submissions live on Spike.com at Bellator 78 in Dayton. Meanwhile, one of Intimidation’s core sponsored fighters, Jessica “Evil” Eye, was able to show fans on a national stage why she is already one of the most popular fighters in the state of Ohio. Fighting opposite Bellator Women’s 115lb Champion Zoila Gurgel in a 125lb bout at Bellator 83, Eye scored a 1st round technical submission against her rival in just 58 seconds of cage time.

But the stellar finishes in Bellator’s Season 7 were not limited to Ohio-based fighters. The brand’s ties to Minnesota were seen on MTV2 as Mike Richman added yet another stunning KO scoring a head kick to drop his opponent at Bellator 76 and advance to the semifinals. In addition, New York’s Team Bombsquad was well represented as Shahbulat Shamhalaev scored consecutive TKO wins inside the Bellator cage at Bellator 76 and again three weeks later. Fighting fellow Intimidation sponsored Richman at Bellator 79, Shamhalaev connected yet again to score the 1st round TKO and advance to the Season 7 Featherweight Tournament finals at Bellator 84.

Intimidation Clothing is a fast-growing brand of MMA apparel & training gear based in Ohio with a strong presence throughout the Midwest USA and a growing national presence regularly being featured on multiple sporting events on MTV2, FUEL TV, EpixHD, AXS TV and SportsTime Ohio as well as MMA highlight shows on Spike TV and HDNet/AXS TV. In addition to over 70 styles of high-quality, bold t-shirts and sweatshirts for men, women and children. The company is also becoming known for their premium-quality EliteFighter MMA board shorts, as well as vale tudo shorts, rashguards and more available online at IntimidationClothing.com. Fans can like the Intimidation brand on Facebook and follow Intimidation on Twitter.

Intimidation Clothing is pleased to announce that exciting young lightweight Joey Holt is expected to fight at NAAFS: Caged Fury 19 in Morgantown, West Virginia. Holt, who signed an expanded, exclusive sponsorship deal with the Intimidation brand earlier this year, improved to 3-0 as a pro in January, is best known for his highlight reel flying knee KO of Clint Musser at Bellator 51. Most recently Holt was scheduled to fight at Bellator 71 in Chester, West Virginia but the fight was cancelled 24 hours prior to the event due to his opponent not making weight. Holt (3-0), a member of Team Impact in East Liverpool, Ohio near the OH/WV border, is expected to face another Intimidation sponsored fighter in Philadelphia-based lightweight Andrew Osborne (4-4). The event, NAAFS: Caged Fury 19, will take place in conjunction with Reality Cage Combat on Saturday, September 15th at the Morgantown Events Center at the historic Waterfront Place Hotel located just minutes from the WVU campus in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Beginning with their January event at the Waterfront Place Hotel in Morgantown, the NAAFS has already showcased some of the top fighters to ever fight in the state of West Virginia. One of the winners on that NAAFS card was Joey Holt, a winner that night over Nate Hall via KO in less than a minute. Now 3-0 as a pro, “The Hitman” has finished all three of his opponents inside the 1st round.

Fighting at Bellator 51 in Canton, Ohio in September 2011, Joey “The Hitman” Holt was an underdog on paper to decorated wrestler Clint Musser (2-1). After spending much of the first round surviving Musser’s ground and pound attacks Holt landed a flying knee to the head of Musser while he shot for a takedown. The resulting knockout was featured on HDNet’s Indside MMA multiple times throughout the Fall of 2011 and was a finalist for Knockout of the Year and immediately put Holt on the regional and national MMA map.

Holt went 7-5 as an amateur and regularly trains at his home gym while cross training at Strong Style Martial Arts in the Cleveland area and Fight Club Pittsburgh. The 27 year old product of Team Impact in East Liverpool, Ohio, joins teammate Josh “The Sandman” Stansbury as two of the newest Intimidation signees after both agreed to exclusive deals earlier this summer with one of the fastest growing MMA apparel brands in the combat sports industry.

Intimidation Clothing is a fast-growing brand of MMA apparel & training gear based in Ohio with a strong presence throughout the Midwest USA and a growing national presence regularly being featured on multiple sporting events on MTV2, FUEL TV, EpixHD, AXS TV and SportsTime Ohio as well as MMA highlight shows on Spike TV and HDNet/AXS TV. In addition to over 70 styles of high-quality, bold t-shirts and sweatshirts for men, women and children. The company is also becoming known for their premium-quality EliteFighter MMA board shorts, as well as vale tudo shorts, rashguards and more available online at IntimidationClothing.com. Fans can like the Intimidation brand on Facebook and follow Intimidation on Twitter.

Intimidation Clothing is pleased to announce that the brand will feature advertisements on MMAweekly.com, one of the top MMA news sites in the world, throughout the month of August. Starting with a weekend takeover of the MMA Weekly site featuring five highly visible ads, the brand is highlighting several styles as well as three sponsored fighters in the ads which are expected to be seen several million times on the popular MMA news source.

“It is an honor to be able to work with one of the top MMA news sites online today,” stated Luke Jernigan, President & CEO of Intimidation Clothing, LLC. “The month of August was already shaping up to be the best in company history thanks to top level regional MMA events, but with the ads on MMAweekly.com we will get more national exposure than ever before.”

Three fighters and five shirt styles are featured on the ads including Bellator Middleweight Brian “The Predator” Rogers, female MMA star Jessica “Evil” Eye and fast-rising prospect Mark “The Pride of Bloomfield” Cherico. Rogers, who is known for his highlight reel knockouts, scored a Knockout of the Year candidate with a flying knee KO of Vitor Vianna at Bellator 61. Eye, who trains alongside Rogers at Strong Style Martial Arts in Independence, Ohio, is a 2-time Bellator veteran ranked in the Top 5 in the world in women’s MMA at 125 pounds with a 7-1 pro record. Cherico, an extremely energetic fighter from Fight Club Pittsburgh, is a 1-0 pro who completed his amateur career 9-0 and has finished all 10 opponents he has faced inside the cage.

The Intimidation brand is featuring five shirt style which represent the line’s diversity throughout the ad campaign. The Cross and Spartan tees have been the company’s top sellers since being released over two years ago while the Mr. Tuff design has likely been seen by more fans than any Intimidation tee. A classic skull and crossbones design, the Mr. Tuff was Rogers’ walkout shirt for his Bellator 61 and Bellator 66 fights, both of which were broadcast on MTV2 with highlights shown on Inside MMA on HDNet as well as other MMA highlight shows. The final two styles represent the continues evolution of the brand with the All Heart and the women’s Shooting Star being featured.

Intimidation Clothing is a fast-growing brand of lifestyle clothing & MMA training gear based in Ohio with a strong presence throughout the Midwest USA and a growing national presence regularly being featured on multiple sporting events on MTV2, FUEL TV, EpixHD, AXS TV and SportsTime Ohio as well as MMA highlight shows on Spike TV and HDNet/AXS TV. In addition to over 70 styles of high-quality, bold t-shirts and sweatshirts for men, women and children. The company is also becoming known for their premium-quality EliteFighter MMA board shorts, as well as vale tudo shorts, rashguards and more available online at IntimidationClothing.com. The media and promotional wing of the company, Intimidation Interactive Media, handles everything from MMA championship belts to cage rentals, event photography and more. Fans can like the Intimidation brand on Facebook and follow Intimidation on Twitter.

Intimidation Clothing is pleased to announce the sponsorship of lightweight Joey Holt at Saturday’s NAAFS: Caged Fury 16 event. Holt looks to improve to 3-0 as a pro as he faces Cincinnati-based lightweight Dustin Center. The event, to be held at the Morgantown Events Center in Morgantown, West Virginia, will mark the first NAAFS event in the state and is expected to be a huge hit with a near sellout crowd.

Joey “The Hitman” Holt (2-0) is coming off the biggest fight of his life, a fight in which he responded well to on a big stage. Fighting at Bellator 51 in Canton, Ohio in September, Holt was an underdog on paper to decorated wrestler Clint Musser (2-1). After spending much of the first round surviving Musser’s ground and pound attacks Holt landed a flying knee to the head of Musser while he shot for a takedown. The resulting knockout was featured on HDNet’s Indside MMA multiple times throughout the Fall and was a finalist for Knockout of the Year. His opponent, Dustin Center (3-2-0-1) is coming off a TKO loss on January 15th and will be making his NAAFS debut.

Intimidation Clothing is a fast-growing brand of MMA apparel & gear based in Ohio with a strong presence throughout the Midwest USA and a growing national presence having been featured on multiple events on MTV2 and HDNet in recent months. In addition to over 50 styles of high-quality, bold t-shirts, the company is also becoming known for their premium-quality EliteFighter MMA board shorts, as well as vale tudo shorts, rashguards and more available online at IntimidationClothing.com. Fans can like Intimidation on Facebook and follow Intimidation Clothing on Twitter.

Intimidation Clothing unveiled their new EliteFighter board shorts right in the middle of October, a busy month in the world of MMA, improving the look of what were already becoming known as some of the highest quality board shorts in the game.

Intimidation set the public unveiling of the EliteFighter shorts in motion at NAAFS: Caged Fury 15 in the night’s main event where 4-time UFC veteran Jason Dent became the first to wear the EliteFighter shorts in MMA competition. Dent, whose GriffonRawl MMA Academy became one of Intimidation’s first dealers just a couple of years ago, featured the black EliteFighter shorts with the bold white INTIMIDATION down the front left and back right legs and custom “GriffonRawl MMA Academy” text logo in red on the opposite legs. While Dent was not victorious in his fight against the former Bellator Featherweight Tournament finalist Daniel Straus, the shorts looked great in the HDNet highlights of NAAFS: Caged Fury 15 from Cleveland and will surely look great on the SportsTime Ohio broadcast of the fight as well.

The EliteFighter shorts, made from the exact same premium quality materials as Intimidation’s old board shorts, feature breathable, tear-resistant fabric with the Intimidation logo on the belt as well as down the legs. They also have a velcro fly and waist with tie closure with a waist that has double stitching with durable triple stitch seems and split-seam sides. In addition, the spandex crotch allows for added flexibility.

Intimidation Clothing is a fast-growing brand of MMA apparel & gear based in Ohio with a strong presence throughout the Midwest USA. In addition to over 50 styles of high-quality, bold t-shirts, the company is also becoming known for their premium-quality EliteFighter MMA board shorts, rashguards and more available online at IntimidationClothing.com. The media and promotional wing of the company, Intimidation Interactive Media, handles everything from MMA championship belts to cage rentals, event photography and more. Fans can like Intimidation on Facebook and follow Intimidation Clothing on Twitter @IntimidationMMA.